Week 2.... already?

As I am sitting down, preparing to write this blog post for week number two of my Ugandan adventure I find myself with a lack of words to accurately describe all of my experiences from the past day. And then to even try to assemble a picture of what the whole week has been, now THAT is the real challenge. So, please bear with me as I process and know that this serves as your warning that I am no story teller nor blogger extraordinaire. Right now it’s raining. Pouring. It has only rained a few times here but already I can tell when it is about to happen. The winds come and they cool down the air, almost to the point where one would say, “let me go get a sweatshirt.” But not quite. I have rarely experienced a rain like this, where I could practically go bathe in the downpour. And the thunder. It rattles my core... or maybe just the metal roofs but sometimes it’s hard to tell. The rains here are a blessing, filling up the rain water barrels and providing life all around me. Not only for physical life, but I sense a filling of my “spiritual rain barrel” as I can sit and observe God’s incredible creation. Blessings happen around me everyday. I have been lucky enough to be placed in a health clinic in Mukono on the labor and delivery unit. I have some awesome staff to shadow in these following months and I could not be more excited to learn from them. The past two days alone I have witnessed the miracle of childbirth 10 times. I am constantly in awe of the strength of the female body and the ingenuity of our Creator. How lucky we all are to be His children. Classes have started in full swing, and will challenge me to think more about my faith and cultural boundaries. I have now been to church with my family twice and could not be more in love with the worship. Ugandans KNOW how to do it. I have made some friendships with UCU students that continue to make me smile and offer me an opportunity to ask questions about my cultural curiosities in a safe space. I have eaten the best avocados and developed a new appreciation for chocolate. And oh boy, I have only had coffee once while I have been here but tea three times a day is quickly growing on me. Yet, despite all of the blessings around me I am constantly needing to remind myself that I am surrounded by God’s never ending love. I think one of my expectations coming into this trip was that I would adjust faster than my peers because I have had the opportunity to travel to a variety of different cultures. However, I am learning very quickly that this expectation is leading to many of my frustrations as I am adjusting to a new way of living as a pilgrim, not a tourist. For those of you that know me, you understand that I am generally a more reserved person, reluctant to share my feelings so that I am not a burden for others. However, being here for only two weeks has shown me how incredibly important it is to share those thoughts and feelings with others not only to build much stronger relationships with them but to help me process all of the new adjustments in my life. Therefore, I will share some of them with those of you reading this. First, as I have already mentioned: frustration. I am frustrated that I am not adjusting as quickly as I had assumed. Frustrated that my morning routine must be relearned and takes much more energy than it used to. Frustrated that I can not understand what people are saying to me and frustrated when they don’t understand my responses. I tend towards frustration when the electricity goes out for the third time this week and I have to shake out my bug net every morning before crawling out of bed to get the lil critters off. Yet through the frustration I also feel incredibly loved. From my home, as I have reached out for encouragement. From my classmates, who are going through many of the same things I am. From my practicum coworkers who laugh at me and with me many times each day. From the staff here, who all know my name and care a great deal about how I am doing. From my host siblings, who run to greet me with hugs after school. From my host Mama and Papa, who challenge me to lean into my experiences here fully. Which brings me to the highlight of my week: my African name. I’m not sure that my Mama knew what she was doing when she gave me the name Mirembe, which means peace in Luganda. But God sure did. Before receiving this name, I had been reflecting on Numbers 6: 24-26 which talks about God's gift of peace. I think it’s the little things like this reminder to seek God for peace during my times of trial that may end up being some of my greatest takeaways. But then again, it’s only week two. Who really knows. Thank you all for your continued love and support, Mirembe Emma

Also, I have been uploading photos to the page on my website, please feel free to check it out if you are interested!